Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 147545 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147545 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Which is good because he doesn’t let go right away. With one hand still gripping my shoulder, he looks into my eyes. “Are you okay?”
Why is he asking me that? His brother is the one who got shot.
My thoughts still feel fractured, but I realize I don’t even know if Tim’s alive. “Is he…?”
Tor drops his hand and looks back at his brother’s still form. He kneels, careful to keep away from the blood, and feels his neck for a pulse.
His lips press together grimly. He stands and doesn’t say anything. Instead, he looks down at his cell phone. “I have a friend who can sneak into your house and grab those items you left behind. Do you have a hide-a-key or anything to make it easier for him?”
I swallow. “I didn’t… lock the door when I left.”
“Do you have one of those doorbell cameras?”
“Yes, but it had a low battery today, so it’s charging. That’s one of the reasons I picked tonight,” I murmur. I didn’t want my mom to have to watch the video of me leaving the house tomorrow morning.
“Good. That was smart,” he tells me.
“Is he…?” I start to look at Tim’s body, but Tor grabs my bicep and pulls me away before I can.
“Don’t worry about him right now. The police could be on their way already for all we know, so we have to move fast. We don’t have time for you to leave, so we need a different story. Do you know where my bedroom is?”
I nod.
“Okay. I need you to take your clothes off and give them to me. Then go up to my bedroom. Wash your hands very well—scrub them clean before you do anything else. Then let your hair down and mess it up a little, like my fingers have been roaming through it. Find one of my T-shirts hanging up in the closet, doesn’t matter which one, and put it on. Once you’ve done all that, get in my bed. Climb under the covers and move around a little bit to get your hair on my pillow and your DNA all over my sheets. They need to believe we had sex tonight, so get as creative as you want. I’ll try to find clothes we can say you wore when you came over. You’ll need to put them on so your DNA gets on those, too.”
“I… there’s a hoodie in the back seat of my car.”
“Perfect. I’ll grab that. I can snag a pair of my sister’s leggings. She has a bunch of them, so I’m sure she won’t notice. When the police arrive, they’ll ask you questions, so I need you to mentally prepare yourself for that. You didn’t shoot Tim tonight. You came here to see me. You and I have been fucking for a few weeks, but we didn’t want people to know for obvious reasons. The first time we ran into each other was at The Angry Lizard. They don’t have security cameras except on the bar, so this can’t be verified. I saw you leaving and followed you out to your car. Asked if we could go somewhere and talk. We parked in a parking lot—the gravel and mulch place down by the railroad tracks. You know where that is?”
I nod.
“We hooked up there, beside the building where no one could see us. Afterward, you said it couldn’t happen again. It did, and we’ve been in that cycle ever since. Tonight, you snuck over for another hookup, and we fell asleep in my bed. We both woke up when we heard a loud noise downstairs. I woke up first, and you were in bed next to me. I came downstairs to investigate the noise, and you stayed in my room. I found my brother bleeding out on the floor, the front door wide open. I closed it in case the attacker was still out there, and then I called 911. You didn’t see anything because you were in my bedroom the entire time—and you were asleep, so you didn’t hear anything before the loud noise that woke us up. You’d help if you knew anything, but since you don’t, your priority is protecting yourself. Get this story in your head, but don’t answer any of their questions. Because of the circumstances, you’re going to be the obvious suspect, so you tell them you won’t say anything until you’ve spoken to your lawyer.”
“My lawyer,” I say, my head beginning to spin.
“No, your lawyer’s a useless piece of shit. I’ll call our lawyer.” He nods at my body. “Take your clothes off and give them to me.”
“Now? Here?”
“Yes. Come on, make it quick.”
My mouth is so dry. I try to swallow, but it’s like a desert. “Can I have a bottle of water?”
“Yeah.” He pauses, then says, “Actually, no. A bottle taken out of the fridge right now will be too cold. I have an open bottle of water on my nightstand. Take that one. Clothes, now.”